It’s full steam ahead on the ‘aespa-conquers-international-markets’ ship with the release of another English-language single following last year’s Life’s Too Short. Earlier this year, they also dropped the Tetris-interpolating Hold On Tight — their best non-Korean track to date. I definitely underrated it back in March. Better Things isn’t as creative, but it’s a charming … Continue reading
Tag Archives: sm
Song Review: Jaehyun (NCT) – Horizon
Ahead of a full NCT 2023 project later this month, founding member Jaehyun is the latest to deliver a solo track through the group’s NCT Lab platform. These songs have been a mixed bag so far, with the most left-field choices being the most successful. Songs like Horizon are exceedingly difficult to write about because … Continue reading
Song Review: U-Know (Yunho from TVXQ) – Vuja De
Rather than opt for a standard music video, TVXQ’s U-Know is promoting his newest mini album with a thirteen-minute short film, unveiling his cinematic concept via a full storyline. Even so, the album has an official title track in Vuja De, and that’s what I’ll be writing about today. Vuja De embraces elements of big … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of July 2023
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. July 2023 Overall Thoughts This July was characterized by several things, but on this blog it … Continue reading
K-Pop Risers & Fallers: July 2023
Rather than contain my “Risers and Fallers” feature to a single post in June, I’m going to share a bite-sized version at the end of each month. This will let me account for more songs and make a nice lead-in to the monthly round-up post. I anticipate most of these ratings adjustments will be negligible: … Continue reading
2023 LEGENDARY SONGS Inauguration Ceremony
The annual Bias List Legendary Songs Inauguration Ceremony has returned! Yes, I’m a few months late on this, but it’s been a busy year of new releases and I was waiting for an empty day to compose this feature. It’s exceedingly rare for me to award any song a 10-out-of-10 rating on release day. Instead, … Continue reading
Song Review: NCT Dream – ISTJ
The MBTI personality test is one of those popular trends that’s totally passed me by, but NCT Dream’s pre-release Broken Melodies has only grown stronger with time. So even though I have no idea what an “ISTJ” is (Google says an ‘Introverted, Observant, Thinking, and Judging’ personality), I’m eager to check it out. This song … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – Another Day
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – Love Fool
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – No Makeup
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – Cinderella
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – Private Party
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
EXO Exist: In-Depth Album Review – Regret It
EXO are one of my “K-pop A-Z” artists, and that means I’ve committed to write about anything they release in perpetuity. So, here are my thoughts about every track from their new Exist album! 1. Cream Soda // 2. Regret It // 3. Hear Me Out // 4. Private Party // 5. Cinderella // 6. … Continue reading
Song Review: EXO – Cream Soda
I’ll always have a soft spot for EXO. They were one of my gateways into K-pop, way back when they made their debut eleven years ago. It’s been a rocky ride the past few years, with member enlistments and other roadblocks preventing the group from making their yearly comeback. Instead, fans have waited two years … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (July 9, 2023)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
Top K-Pop Albums of 2023 (So Far)
To be honest, there haven’t been many K-pop albums in 2023 that I’ve played more than a couple times through. Similar to my singles list yesterday, nearly all of these picks come with some qualifiers. However, there are a more than a few gems to uncover. *As usual, albums must have at least four full … Continue reading
Top K-Pop Songs of 2023 (So Far)
I’m heartened by the fact that only two (!) of my top ten singles of 2022 were released before the month of July. That’s a pretty striking figure, and one I can easily see replicating this year. It’s no secret that I’ve been underwhelmed by the first six months of 2023. It’s not that K-pop … Continue reading
New & Noteworthy J-pop of the Week (July 2, 2023)
In connection with my desire to fully keep up with the J-pop industry, I’m planning to do a weekly round-up of any new releases that have caught my ear. Some of these may have been covered on the blog already, but my hope is that this will become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in … Continue reading
The Top Three K-Pop Songs of June 2023
At the end of each month, I look back at my three favorite title tracks by K-pop artists. I take my own ratings into account, but there’s a bit of wiggle room as certain songs tend to grow or fade. June 2023 Overall Thoughts In the coming days, I’ll be sharing my top picks from the … Continue reading
SHINee HARD: In-Depth Album Review – Gravity
1. Hard // 2. Juice // 3. 10X // 4. Satellite // 5. Identity // 6. The Feeling // 7. Like It // 8. Sweet Misery // 9. Insomnia // 10. Gravity GRAVITY Ah, the pensive album-closer. K-pop loves a pensive album closer. Here’s the deal: Whenever I see the title of this song, my … Continue reading